The Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force is the hallmark of collaboration and communication needed to improve response to missing Indigenous persons in Montana.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen advocated for legislation during the 2023 legislative session to reauthorize the statewide Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force for ten years, extending its authority from the previous two-year sunset dates and providing the needed continuity to effectively fulfill its long-term mission of addressing the crisis. During the 2025 legislative session, the name was changed from Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council. These changes better align the purpose of the strategic body and increase the scope of duties.
Members include representatives from each of the state’s eight federally recognized tribes, a representative from the Attorney General’s Office, a representative from the Montana Department of Justice who has expertise in the subject of missing persons, a trained homicide investigator, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction. The U.S. Attorney General’s Office (Montana District), Indian Health Services, Unchained, Ohkomi Forensics, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are also represented on the advisory council.
Objectives
- Reduce Indigenous missing persons in Montana
- Improve collaboration
- Identify families’ needs
- Track data on Montana missing indigenous persons
Duties
- Identify jurisdictional barriers between federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community agencies
- Work to identify causes that contribute to missing and murdered indigenous persons and make recommendations to federally recognized tribes in the state to reduce cases of missing and murdered indigenous persons
- Work to identify strategies to improve interagency communication, cooperation, and collaboration to remove jurisdictional barriers and increase reporting and investigation of missing indigenous persons